Things I Stopped Carrying

Things I Stopped Carrying

There was a time I carried everything

Every silence, every change in tone

Every unanswered message left too long

As if distance was mine alone

I made excuses for empty places

Called absence that I should understand

Held broken moments with careful hands

While pieces slipped like dry sand

I thought kindness meant staying still

Waiting until people turned around

Thinking if I gave enough of myself

Something lasting would be found

Yet days became a quiet mirror

Showing truths I did not want to see

Some people love being needed

Not seeing who you happen to be

So slowly I began returning

Small forgotten parts of myself

The laughter that had grown quieter

The dreams left sitting on a shelf

I stopped carrying what was never mine

Stopped feeling my worth by who stayed

Stopped reopening healed places

Just because somebody called my name

There was no dramatic goodbye

No final speech to mark the day

Only a softer way of living

And choosing not to chase

Now my heart feels different somehow

Not untouched, not free from scars

Only stronger in quiet places

And less dependent on distant stars

#Marie381UkWriter